Canal du Midi
Some suggestions for what to explore during your visit
There are many things to visit in Languedoc.
You can choose between several Natural parks with stunning scenery and picturesque villages with medieval centres.
Several markets with food, vegetables, antiques, flowers and a lot of other things or cities with shopping malls.
Some are listed below but there are definitely far more to see.
LAURENS, where Maison Agnès is situated, is one of the 7 villages in the famous wine district of Faugères. It is a calm village with about 1800 inhabitants. In the medieval centre is the castle where the mayor has his office.
There are several wine-makers in the village and there is also a wine cooperative.
Steps to the castle in Laurens
Gate to one of the old houses
The Wine Cooperative
PÉZENAS is a small town only 16 km away. Every Saturday morning there is a market with a large variety of things. The historic centre is very interesting and there is also a lot of small boutiques. Here you can follow the foot-steps of Molière and visit the Toy museum and find many good restaurants.
Saturday market
A drink among the
market stalls
Lots of boutiques
BÉZIERS is one of the oldest cities in Europe, founded in 575 BC. It has a population of about 80.000 people. Here you can stroll in the interesting old part with a lot of boutiques, find many good restaurants, shop at Lafayette or in the shopping mall called the Octagone. From the Opera House, Allées Paul Riquet, leads to the staty of Paul Riquet who started to build the Canal du Midi in the 17th century. In the middle of the allé there are different markets every week, like Antiques and Flowers. The distance to Bezièrs is about 30 km.
Flower market on Fridays
Canal du Midi
Typical boat to rent
One of the locks
In Béziers the Canal de Midi runs in an aquaduct called the Pont-canal de l'Orb over the river Orb. Just outside the city is a system of 7 (earlier 9) locks as part of Canal du Midi. The canal was finished 1681 and it connects the Mediterranean with the Atlantic via the river Garonne. It has a strech of 240 km and has 91 locks. It is inscribed as a Unesco World Heritage Site. You can rent a boat for longer or shorter trips.
Gorge d'Heric is a canyon 30 km away. The scenery is spectaculus with 600 m high cliffs. You can fish, hike or climb the rocks. There is a paved narrow road along the river which leads to a small village at the top with a small café for cold drinks. Opening hours vary.
The canyon
The high cliffs
The village
The small café
ST. GUILHEM LE DÉSERT is a very beautiful medieval village about 65 km drive.
It is located on the pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostella
The Abbey
Typical alley
Devil's bridge
LAC DU SALAGOU is an artificial lake which was built 1964-1969. The intention was to raise the water in two levels. The second level would have flooded the village of Celles, but this did not occur. The village was however abandonned and all houses, except the Mairie and the church, were not taken care of.
There is now a plan for repopulation of the village. The whole area is interesting and very beautiful.
Celles and the lake
